Southwest Black Bean Burgers

Brrrr!  It has been snowing off and on here in Seattle since Wednesday.  The prediction was lots of snow this winter and I think this is our third time being hit.  Nothing compared to pretty much the rest of the country.  Everyone outside of Seattle aside, I have become a huge wimp for cold weather.  We have temps in the 30s now and I'm whining like a teenager.

What I really really want is comfort food.  Like lasagna, beef stew, mac and cheese, chicken noodle soup, red wine.  Yeah yeah I know the last one isn't a food but it definitely provides warmth and comfort.  In fact, I'm enjoying a glass right now on this snowy, cold evening!

Earlier this week I shared our menu for the week.  I stuck with EVERYTHING as planned and it rocked.  Turns out it was all what I consider comfort food.  Wednesday it snowed and I made pasta y fagioli (pasta with beans) and it was super yummy.  Watch for a future post.  Thursday I made these black bean burgers.  It was the second time I've made them and they really do not disappoint.  They are substantial and filling like a beef burger and have lots of great flavor.  I was able to make 8 burgers so what we didn't eat is in the freezer. They aren't super spicy, feel free to add a jalapeño or green chiles or more chili pepper to give it more heat.  I served it on toasted naan bread with sweet potato fries.

Southwest Black Bean Burgers
recipe from The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup onion chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne or red chile powder (or fresh chile)
salt/pepper
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1 cup finely chopped carrots
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup orange juice (I took a tbsp of frozen oj and mixed with 1/4 cup water)
1 cup tortilla chips (couple handfuls of chips)
2 15 oz cans of black beans drained and rinsed
1 egg

Ok if you're reading this you saw a bunch of things get finely chopped.  This is a perfect time to bust out the food processor.  In fact, if you hardly ever pull your food processor and hate cooking that is precisely where you are going wrong.  I mean, it is only god's gift to cooks (that and the kitchenaide).

In food processor pulse the onions until diced (not soupy), put in large bowl.  Do the same with carrots, mushrooms, and garlic.   Heat large skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil and onion when heated.  Stir and cook until onions start to soften.  Add spices and stir constantly for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the mushrooms through OJ to the skillet.  Lower the heat to medium, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes.

During this 8 minutes, rinse and dry the food processor container.  Pulse the tortilla chips until they are like coarse corn meal.  Add the beans and egg and pulse until the mixture is mashed well but still kind of chunky.  Put the bean mixture into the large bowl the onions were in.  Once the vegetable mixture is done cooking add it to the bean mixture and combine well.

Preheat oven to 375.  Shape into burgers and bake on lightly greased cookie sheet for 25 minutes.  They will be firm and lightly crusted.  This has to be the best black bean burger recipe I've come across!